The Loss Of A Church Building

Démolissez ce temple, leur répondit Jésus, et en trois jours, je le relèverai.  Jean 2:19

Watching the live video stream of the burning of Notre Dame de Paris, figuring it's pretty much a total loss, my first thought is hoping there is no loss of life as has been reported. That should always be the first reaction to a fire. 

It feels so surreal.   I've never been to Paris and, if I were to go to France would probably have avoided it, but so much of western culture is so tied up with that Cathedral.  Sight unseen, it feels like a personal loss.  Musically, it is one of the foremost birthplaces of counterpoint and has had importance in music right up till today.  Its organs and choir and acoustics have been renowned, its musicians some of the finest in the world.  Artistically, it was full of works of art that dated right back to its medieval beginning that are totally gone.   Its architecture, like all old architecture, is unique, its landmark status too.  The Black Churches which are being burned down have the same meaning for their congregations and communities. 

I can't imagine that something won't be built to replace it, If there isn't enough to recover, as it looks from the video stream, I hope they won't try to reproduce what was there.  That would turn it from a unique part of history into something phony.  An imitation.   

It is, first and foremost, a place of worship,  whatever they replace it with I hope it is an authentic Christian place of worship, a Catholic place of worship and of Christian life.  Christian churches should be places of provision for the poor, the outcast, the sojourner.  If I were on any committee dealing with that, I would point to the description of worship among the followers of Jesus in the letters of James and Paul the other books of the New Testament.  

I hope the reports that no one was killed are true.  I'm afraid to go back to the coverage.  Attending the memorial service of the fire fighter who died in Maine a few weeks back, that's foremost in my mind.  Pray for the People, The People are the Church. 

Update:  They are reporting that a fire fighter was seriously injured but that's all I've read about it.  

Update 2:  No word on other injuries.  

Thank heaven, they're saying there is no evidence of arson or terrorism, this could have turned a terrible catastrophe into something much worse. In the United States, fueled by our "free press" there would probably have already been acts of reprisal against totally innocent people. 

One of the commentaries in the French media said one of the problems Notre Dame had was that too many different entities had authority over it and that hampered preservation and restoration planning.   They're saying they structure, by which they seem to mean the towers that were largely saved and the outside shell have been saved and I guess they're going to rebuild inside that.  President Macron has already announced a national subscription to rebuild, I read that 100 million euros have already been pledged.